I have had the experience of trying to join a group, but no one welcomed me because I was new to the area, an unknown, someone who might not be a good fit.

With the Lord to nurture me, compassion is the fruit that grows from times of rejection: compassion for the stranger, the newcomer, the misfit, the one who is different, the one—like me—who is a child of God.

When Saul arrived in Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple. Acts 9:26